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News Release
6-17-09
CHILI AND CORNBREAD CHEFS WANTED FOR MOUNTAIN STATE
ART & CRAFT FAIR CONTEST
Is your chili hotter than the month of July, or do you make a mild version that elicits raves instead of tears of pepper-induced joy?
Regardless, the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair (MSACF) invites you to enter the “Firecracker Chili Cookoff” Saturday, July 4 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Awards will be presented at 4 p.m by West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) Deputy Commissioner Janet Fisher.
Sanctioned by the International Chili Society (ICS), the chili contest will award cash prizes in four categories: red chili, verde chili, salsa and people’s choice. Contestants must prepare their chili on-site for the red chili and verde categories while salsa entries can be prepared on site or delivered to the event.
Of course, in West Virginia a pot of chili isn’t complete without a pan of cornbread, so these contests will award cast iron skillets and cash prizes for traditional and non-traditional cornbread. Those entries should be prepared at home and submitted for judging by noon on July 4.
Entry fee for red chili is $25 for ICS members and $67 for non-members. Entry fee for verde and salsa categories is $20. Cornbread entry is free with your paid admission to the fair.
Chili will be judged on taste, consistency, aroma, color and bite. Red chili prizes are $350 for first, $150 for second and $50 for third. The people’s choice winner will take home $100, and first place in verde and salsa categories will get $50, with 2nd place in each category receiving $35 and 3rd place finishers $15. Cornbread winners in each category will receive cast iron skillets and cash awards of $50, $35 and $15.
The contest is sponsored by the WVDA with support from the MSACF, the ICS, Cracker Barrel of Mineral Wells and ACE Adventure Resort.
Held annually during the Independence Day holiday at Cedar Lakes Conference Center near Ripley, MSACF is a nationally recognized event that brings the finest artisans in the region for a celebration of art, crafts, music and traditional Appalachian culture. The dates for 2009 are July 2-4. Hours are 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. daily. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for children 6-12, and children under 6 are admitted free. Group discounts are also available.
Visit www.msacf.com or www.wvagriculture.org for complete rules and a registration form. For more information, contact Debra Gard at 304-483-4027 or 888-982-3247, dgard@ag.state.wv.us, or Cindy Martel at 304-541-9756.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
“The Basis of All Wealth is Agriculture.”
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